Beijing -- Zoo extras

A lovely Chinese shisa at the entrance of the zoo.

Now, remember how I was on the lookout for the penguins we saw on the entrance diagram??
We found them!!!
 

We came to realize the actual penguins were not in this section of the zoo, but they did have this fun picture spot!! 

 

 

Including Rodney's favorite!

And, of course, a bit of signage...

We didn't use our time to see the "American Animal." 

 

"Closer, Easier"
Rodney said closer is easier to hit that low target! 

And, for a few more Beijing cuties...
 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the diaper peeking out of the split pants?? 

Then we were off to the airport for our two hour flight to Xi'an, home of the Terracotta Warriors!!

Beijing -- Playful Pandas on video!!

We were so lucky to be there at a time the pandas were SO playful!!! I just had to share the snippets of video we took...

I think it's kind of fun, too, to listen to the Chinese being spoken in the first two (especially they second) videos!

These two pandas were so incredibly fun to watch!!!

(The voices in this one are some of our group members.)

Beijing -- Zoo and PANDAS!

Our last stop in Beijing before
our relocation to Xi'an was the zoo.
 

I spy penguins!!! 

Sunny is telling us this is the entrance and exit to the panda exhibit. Since its a special fee, once you come out you can't go back in. What she didn't tell us was that the best panda souvenirs were in there, so you'll want to get them while you're IN there.... yeah, we learned that lesson the hard way. But, anyway---
here they are --- the adorable, playful pandas!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving the panda area, we had about an hour or so until our be-back-at-the-bus time. We had seen on the board they had a white tiger, so we found our way to the big cat area....
(I was still keeping an eye out for the penguins!)
 

 

And there he is with his GORgeous blue eyes!!!

Now that we'd achieved that goal, it was time to put on a search for those penguins and hope time didn't run out......

Beijing -- Summer Palace extras

Meet Empress Dowager Cixi and her husband, the ruler of China, Emperor Guangxu.... She is 'lovingly' referred to now as the "Dragon Lady," the one who wouldn't walk to the temple on her own two feet.
She actually kept her husband in exile inside the Summer Palace and acted as ruler in his stead!!
Also, notice those long green finger tips on her left hand? Her servants feared those. If, when brushing her hair, one hair was lost, she'd slap them across the face with those nails! The servants learned to hide those 'lost hairs' in their robes!

 

The bat was her 'logo,' so it was put into the decor. 

We got a kick out of the Dragon Lady jackets!! 

A few of the signs we saw...

"May we remind you: Please be self-restraint and be a good tourist to mold a well-mannered imagination." 

"This is what I've always wanted to talk to you:
Saving water you are the best ...
Urinating into the pool you are the best ...
Flushing timely you are the best ...
Protecting public property you are the best ..."
Remember the four-star bathroom at Ming's Tomb?? Well, the lady in front of me was NOT the best when it came to 'flushing timely'.... just sayin'..... 

I was very curious how to eat an espresso sandwich.... 

You only get one stroke, so make it count!!! 

 

Then it was off to lunch...

Now that's a LOT of bikes!!!! 

We chose lunch at McDonald's...
(Dairy Queen had only hot dogs and ice cream.)

 

An Angry Bird meal!! 

As I wrote earlier--
gotta be prepared for the squatty potty!!! 

We could have eaten at Renjoy... 

A few other tidbits about Beijing~
An apartment in this area, close to the Summer Palace, has 5-6 rooms and goes for about 3 million US dollars!!!! In other areas, a two bedroom, 1000 square foot apartment goes for about 1 million US dollars!!!
The rich live in north Beijing to be away from the dust that blows in from the Gobi Desert and settles in southern Beijing.....

And, to close this post--- a few Beijing cuties....
 

 

 

 

Uh... yeah.....
that one REALLY got lost in translation....
I hope!!